


The One Where Nanako Calls Adachi Dad

by orphan_account



Category: Persona 4, Persona Series, persona 4 golden
Genre: Adachi Gets Called Dad Once And Nearly Cries, Gen, adadchi time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:08:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22086157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: A typical day care-taking Nanako-chan ends in her calling Adachi her dad. Surely that was just a slip up?
Comments: 3
Kudos: 44





	The One Where Nanako Calls Adachi Dad

Adachi wasn’t exactly sure when he started to be assigned Nanako-chan-babysitting duty but regardless of the exact date, he’s been taking care of her at night per Dojima-san’s ‘request’ (moreso of a demand veiled as a question, as if Dojima-san’s threatening demeanor alone didn’t influence Adachi’s decisions).

Tonight’s routine began to conclude as Adachi was cleaning up from their movie night, Nanako-chan drearily standing in the doorway.

“...Do I have to sleep  _ now?  _ I’m not tired yet,” she slurred, drowsiness evidently consuming her.

“Of course you do, Nanako-chan. Afterall, if you stay up any later you’re going to be too tired to play tomorrow!”

Nanako-chan seemed content (but certainly not happy) with the answer and nodded lazily, yawning to further solidify her sleepy demeanor.

Once Adachi finished throwing away the last of their snack plates, he approached Nanako-chan, reaching his hand out for her to hold. “Alright, let’s go.”

Nanako-chan looked at his hand for a moment before looking away bashfully. “...Could you carry me? I’m sleepy.”

Adachi sighed but understood, kneeling down and opening his arms as Nanako-chan wrapped her own arms around his neck.

Opening the pink duvet, Adachi urged Nanako-chan to let go of him (who was proving to be somewhat stubborn, though Adachi couldn’t deny that he wouldn’t mind holding onto Nanako-chan for just a little longer) so he could tuck her in.

Once she eventually let go, Adachi carefully tucked her in, layering her with the bed’s main blanket and letting the duvet fold on top as to not be too warm for her.

“Good night, Nanako-chan. I’ll see you tomorrow, OK?”

Nanako-chan barely seemed conscious at that point, yet her tired self couldn’t stop her from mumbling a few more words. “...G’night, daddy…”

A few more words, indeed they were- words that immediately caused Adachi to freeze. She didn’t say that did she? And even if she did, it was just a mistake. Yes- a mistake. That’s all it was. Logically, since Adachi was taking the typical position of Dojima- coupled with her languid manner, it was easy for Nanako-chan to make such a simple mistake.

Quelling his heart rate, Adachi still managed to find himself cracking the smallest of smirks, ruffling her hair a bit before leaving the room and shutting off the light, preparing himself to crash on Dojima-san’s living room couch.

There were a plethora of ways Adachi could have woken up the next morning, yet a rough smack of paper to his face was certainly not one of the most ideal. 

“Adachi, get up. Fix yourself up- we’re leaving in an hour!” Oh. Dojima-san. What a  _ lovely _ voice to hear at… if Adachi’s reading the kitchen clock right, 7:00AM.

Adachi groaned, rising off the couch and caring to his back with a few rubs (he’d become a resident of the couch in the past few months yet the pain that followed in the morning was something he could never get used to). 

As Adachi started to make his way to the bathroom, he bumped into Nanako-chan, her typical cheery attitude returning instead of her somnolent self from last night. “Good morning daddy!” She turned to Dojima-san, her tone not changing. “Bye, dad! I’m going to school now!”

That word again caused Adachi’s tongue to stagger in his throat, resulting in an agap expression as Nanako-chan bounced past him, Dojima-san reciprocating the farewell to his daughter.

Regaining his composure, he turned back to Dojima-san, who’d only been casually reading the same paper he’d hit Adachi with earlier regardless of the interaction between the three of them. Adachi watched Nanako-chan as she left the door, turning back to Dojima-san with bewilderment. “You heard that too right?”

“Heard what?”

“The fact your daughter just called me ‘daddy.’ You know, she did that last night too?” Adachi approached the table, resting his elbows upon it and resting his head in his hands. “I think something’s wrong.”

Dojima-san folded his paper and placed it on the table, imitating Adachi and resting his head on his balled fist. “Ah, well... She’s always been pretty excited when I tell her you’re coming over.”

“But she’s calling me her  _ dad _ now! That’s  _ your _ job- and I’m already doing more than enough work alongside watching her for you.”

“Really? I didn’t know slacking off at Junes was considered ‘work.” The irritation was becoming evident in Dojima-san’s tone and it was moments like these Adachi wishes he could keep his mouth shut. “Plus, I haven’t heard you complain about seeing her before? I would’ve thought you’d like taking care of Nanako-chan.”

“No, I do!” Once more, it seemed Adachi’s loose lips betrayed him.

“You do?” Came another one of Dojima-san’s rhetoric questions- one of those questions that obviously had either a demand or a point underneath. And a very good question it proved to be; Adachi hadn’t even realized his little attachment to Nanako-chan, but with confirmation he at least liked taking care of her was a start.

The sudden confidence Adachi experienced with his confession dwindled at Dojima-san’s question, placing his head on the table as his eyes shied away from his superior. “I… I do.”

For some reason Adachi expected some form of anger (but perhaps that was due to Dojima-san’s typical reaction being rage), but instead he caught a glimpse of a smile- a quick grin before it melted into a face of consideration.

“Adachi, be honest with me. What do you think of Nanako; do you like her?”

Adachi fought himself for an answer; in the deep recesses of his heart, he wanted to say ‘yes’. He couldn’t deny to himself that he loved that little girl more than anything else in Inaba, ironically enough almost as if she really was his own daughter. Yet it seemed inappropriate for Adachi to become attached to his boss’s daughter that he only saw primarily to babysit.

“Of course I like her, who doesn’t?” settling on a true-enough answer, Adachi chuckled, for imaging anyone genuinely not taking even a small liking to Nanako-chan was absurd.

Dojima hummed an approval, turning his body more towards his partner. “And you _really_ _do_ like taking care of her?”

“Dojima-san… what is it?” It was painfully obvious there was an underlying question to all of these smaller questions and frankly it was beginning to irritate Adachi. Plus it was embarrassing having Nanako-chan’s dad confront him about his paternal feelings for her.

“Well, I guess what I’m getting to is that- how about you stay with us? It’s not like you have anyone else at your place to go home to right?”

“Way to hit the nail on the head, Dojima-san…” Right where it hurt, too. But unfortunately, he had a point.

“Think about it: I can’t be home all of the time, let alone long enough to really take care of Nanako. And you’re the only person I can really trust to watch her. It’d be a good chance for you two to bond as well.”

No. It was a horrible idea. OK well, in theory it was a good idea; it worked out for everyone. Dojima-san found a permanent nanny, Nanako-chan has someone she can play with, and Adachi wouldn’t be bored and alone all the time now. But to let Adachi indulge in taking care of Dojima-san’s little girl like his own? It could only end horribly. He wasn’t sure how, but Adachi just knew something would go wrong.

“Alright, Dojima-san- sounds like a plan. But don’t get jealous when she starts to like me more than you!” Adachi’s heart betrayed his mind yet again in the span of ten minutes, yet for some reason he couldn’t be absolutely displeased with the outcome. Well, the only thing he could be upset about was Dojima-san’s warning glare, as if he really was afraid of Nanako-chan choosing Adachi over him. Funny, but nonetheless Dojima-san’s stare still made Adachi’s spine shiver.

“Right. Do you need help moving anything over here? We have a spare room you could have if you want.”

“Don’t worry about it. I still have to pay for rent for my apartment, so I might as well keep all my crap in there.”  _ Not like I have much to move anyway. _ “Maybe I’ll need to grab a few clothes though…”

The rest of the conversation seemed to last their morning getting ready together and even as they entered Dojima-san’s car. Predictably however, the conversation started to die as they approached the workplace- it wasn’t a topic appropriate discussing in an environment such as that after all.


End file.
